Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine

That fool of a fairy Lucinda did not intend to lay a curse on me.

And so begins this retelling of the tale of Cinderella. Ella was blessed at birth by a fairy with the gift of obedience - imagine having to obey everyone! Ella does what she can to rebel and delay following orders but in the end she must. After her mother passes away, her father remarries the evil stepmother and terrible stepsisters we are all familiar. Ella does not sit by passively accepting her fate. She searches for the fairy to end her curse, torments her stepsisters right back and falls in love with her prince. Like all good fairy tales, it is only when Ella realizes her own strength found within that everything ends happily ever after. The glass slippers, pumpkin coach and fairy godmother are all found here just as in the original Cinderella. Ella and the prince first become friends and then fall in love. A nice change of pace over the 'their eyes meet, fall in love and live happily ever after' love story.

I thought the author did a great job demonstrating Ella as a strong, feisty girl.

Levine, G. C. (1997). Ella enchanted. New York, NY: Harper Collins Publishers.
ISBN:0060275103

The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper

Will Stanton finds out that he is special one of the Old Ones. His job is to find the six signs for the Old Ones and with those in place the Dark will be extinguished. In this quest, his family is endangered and Will must protect them while still unsure of how is powers work.

I was immediately drawn into this story and read it in one sitting. I was not surprised to see the copyright date in the early 70's. I found the style, theme and characters reminiscent of JRR Tolkien's. The good versus evil theme and a singular quest to save the world make great reading (in my opinion). The detail the author spent on describing the environment and nature helps set the stage.

Cooper, S. (1999). The dark is rising. New York, NY: Aladdin Paperbacks.
ISBN: 0689829833

My Brother Sam is Dead by James Lincoln Collier & Christopher Collier

Tim is torn when the Revolutionary War comes to his home and his brother and father are on different sides. Tim isn't sure his brother is on the right side and sides with his father. The consequences of war are felt by the family on both sides.

Heart-breaking story. I do not enjoy reading history and especially not military history. However, this book captured my attention. I can imagine it would be a hit with boys especially reluctant readers.

Collier, J. L. and Collier, C. (2005). My brother sam is dead. New York, NY: Scholastic, Inc.
ISBN: 0439783607